Outcome of Topical Epidural Methylprednisolone Versus Control in Lumbar Disc Surgery Patients

Objective:  The use of topical intraoperative methylprednisolone in lumbar disc surgery leads to significant improvement in pain relief and early resumption of daily life activities. The study determined the outcome of topical epidural methylprednisolone. Materials & Methods:  60 patients included with diagnosed cases of the herniated lumbar disc with ASA Grade 2 and below. Group A was for patients who had to receive topical methylprednisolone while group B was the control group where no topical methylprednisolone had been used. The outcome was measured from OLBI and VAS scores. Results:  In Group A, the mean hospital stay was 2 days, mean OLBI score was 35%, mean VAS score was 3, mean time to resumption of ADL was 7 days, mean dose of paracetamol (per day) was 3 mg, mean dose of Ketorolac (per day) was 90 mg. Whereas Group B, mean hospital stay was 3 days, mean OLBI score was 45%, mean VAS score was 5, mean time to resumption of ADL was 10 days, mean dose of paracetamol (per day) was 4 mg, mean dose of Ketorolac (per day) was 100 mg. In Group A, 91% of patients had a favorable outcome and 9% of patients had an unfavorable outcome. Whereas in Group B, 83% of patients had a favorable outcome and 15%of patients had an unfavorable outcome. There existed insignificant results in outcomes concerning diabetic/non-diabetic, and hypertension/non-hypertension. Conclusion:  The use of topical intraoperative methylprednisolone in lumbar disc surgery leads to significant improvement in pain relief and early resumption of daily life activities as compared to without the use of topical methylprednisolone. Keywords:  Outcome, Epidural Methylprednisolone, Lumbar Disc Surgery, OLBI (Oldenburg Burnout Inventory), ADL (Activities Of Daily Life)

The Efficacy of Surgery for Supra-Tentorial Gliomas in Preventing Seizures

Objectives:  The study examined the surgical outcome of supratentorial gliomas in terms of improvement in seizures in patients who presented to a tertiary care institution. Material and Methods:  A descriptive case series was conducted in Neurosurgery Department at Northwest General Hospital & Research, Peshawar. Patients (n = 95) with supratentorial gliomas with seizures between 18 – 70 years were included. Supratentorial gliomas were diagnosed by neuroimaging as MRI brain with contrast, diffusion-weighted, Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery, and magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The patient was observed for seizures postoperatively. Data was stratified for age and gender. Results:  The majority of patients (36.8%) were in 41 – 50 years. 55.78% of patients were males whereas 44.21% of patients were females. 42 (44.21%) involved the frontal lobe, 16 (16.84%) involved the parietal lobe, 26 (27.36%) involved the temporal lobe, and 11 (11.57%) patients involved the occipital lobe. According to Engel’s classification, 53 patients were in class I, 16 in class II, 10 in class III, and 5 in class IV. 84 (88.42%) experienced post-op seizure reduction. An insignificant association was found with the seizure improvement (yes/no) with different age groups and gender. Conclusion:  The frontal lobe was the most prevalent location for supratentorial gliomas. After surgery, a large proportion of patients improved in terms of seizure management. Keywords:  Seizures, Supratentorial gliomas

Investigating the Post-Sintering Thermal and Mechanical Treatments on the Properties of Alumina Reinforced Aluminum Nanocomposites

Alumina nanoparticles in the loading fraction of 3 wt% were incorporated in pure aluminum matrix to prepare nanocomposites for improved mechanical performance. Powder metallurgy route was adopted wherein nanoparticles were mixed with aluminium powder using dry mixing technique involving milling process, which was followed by the densification of composite mixture by uniaxial cold pressing and pressureless sintering. In order to increase the densification of nanocomposites, a batch of sintered nanocomposites was twice sintered at the same sintering parameters while another batch of specimens was cold pressed after initial sintering. The consolidated nanocomposites together with reference pure aluminum specimens were characterized microstructurally and mechanically by optical and electron microscopy, hardness and compressive strength tests. It was found that the hardness and compressive strength of nanocomposites after sintering increased up to ~ 29% and ~ 144% in comparison to pure aluminium specimens, respectively. Although the densification of nanocomposites increased after twice sintering, the hardness and compressive strength values decreased. However, the rise in consolidification along with improved mechanical performance was noted after cold pressing the specimens as secondary treatment after sintering; hardness increased up to ~ 36% while compressive strength rose to ~ 64%. In comparison to twice sintering, cold pressing after initial sintering significantly increased the hardness and compressive strength of nanocomposites up to ~ 76% and ~ 301% with reference to pure aluminum, respectively. It was found that both the incorporation of alumina nanoparticles and cold pressing after initial sintering improved the mechanical properties of nanocomposites

Software Defect Prediction Using Artificial Neural Networks: A Systematic Literature Review

The demand for automated online software systems is increasing day by day, which triggered the need for high-quality and maintainable softwares at lower cost. Software defect prediction is one of the crucial tasks of the quality assurance process which improves the quality at lower cost by reducing the overall testing and maintenance efforts. Early detection of defects in the software development life cycle (SDLC) leads to the early corrections and ultimately timely delivery of maintainable software, which satisfies the customer and makes him confident towards the development team. In the last decade, many machine learning-based approaches for software defect prediction have been proposed to achieve the higher accuracy. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is considered as one of the widely used machine learning techniques, which is included in most of the proposed defect prediction frameworks and models. This research provides a critical analysis of the latest literature, published from year 2015 to 2018 on the use of Artificial Neural Networks for software defect prediction. In this study, a systematic research process is followed to extract the literature from three widely used digital libraries including IEEE, Elsevier, and Springer, and then after following a thorough process, 8 most relevant research publications are selected for critical review. This study will serve the researchers by exploring the current trends in software defect prediction with the focus on ANNs and will also provide a baseline for future innovations, comparisons, and reviews

Design Of Engine Mounting For Single Seated Educational Racing Vehicle

The power train system for a single seated educational racing vehicle is consists of an engine and a transaxle. This power train unit is attached to the chassis frame of the vehicle. Therefore, it is desirable that both the engine and transaxle can be easily installed to the vehicle chassis frame. For a racing vehicle for educational competition, an adjustable engine mounting system is provided to allow for fine adjustment of the engine position and the transaxle. The alternative term for transaxle is called as the chain tension that includes a selective lock-out feature. This feature allows an operator to lock out the selected forward or reverse gears to alter the vehicle performance during racing. In this work, three design of engine mounts for the use of single-seated educational racing vehicle are proposed. The design process is carried out using CATIA V5 educational software. Once all the proposed designs of the engine mounts are completed, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is performed. Furthermore, a modal analysis using ANSYS Workbench Release 16.0 is also conducted to determine the natural frequency of the component. The results suggest that the best design of engine mount is Design 2. This selection is based on the low natural frequency of the component

To Compare the Effectiveness of Platelet Rich Plasma vs Steroid Injection in the Management of Planter Fasciitis

Objective: The study was done to compare the effectiveness of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) vs steroid injections in the management of planter fasciitis. Study Design: It was a comparative study. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted for the duration of one year from October 2021 to September 2022 in Pakistan Railway General Hospital, Rawalpindi. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted on 500 patients that visited tertiary care unit for a period of one year. Two groups were made based on random sampling technique and type of treatment given for plantar fasciitis (Platelet Rich Plasma and steroid). After the preparation of platelet rich plasma by centrifugation method that separates the red blood cells from plasma and obtain the final volume of plasma with high concentration of platelets. A total of 3ml of platelet rich plasma was injected after all aseptic measures around the area of maximal tenderness in group A patients. 40 mg injection of triamcinolone acetonide was given to the all the participants in group B patients after doing all aseptic measures around the area of maximal tenderness after clinical examination Results: There were 250 patients in each group including both male and females. The average age of patients in our study was 45.9 ± 5.6 years and 45.9±4.5 years in both groups respectively. Patient in group A had more effective pain relief in long term follow up than patients in group B. The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score values gradually decreased as the duration of treatment increased with the lowest value obtained as 0.68 ± 0.65* and 0.60 ± 0.69* for steroid and PRP group respectively. There was no post injection problem in either group. Conclusion: Our study concludes that PRP administration for the treatment of plantar fasciitis can be more effective as compared to steroid as it gives positive results even after 12 months of follow-up

Investigating the impact of Cu2+ doping on the morphological, structural, optical, and electrical properties of CoFe2O4 nanoparticles for use in electrical devices

This study investigated the production of Cu2+-doped CoFe2O4 nanoparticles (CFO NPs) using a facile sol-gel technique. The impact of Cu2+ doping on the lattice parameters, morphology, optical properties, and electrical properties of CFO NPs was investigated for applications in electrical devices. The XRD analysis revealed the formation of spinel-phased crystalline structures of the specimens with no impurity phases. The average grain size, lattice constant, cell volume, and porosity were measured in the range of 4.55-7.07 nm, 8.1770-8.1097 angstrom, 546.7414-533.3525 angstrom(3), and 8.77-6.93%, respectively. The SEM analysis revealed a change in morphology of the specimens with a rise in Cu2+ content. The particles started gaining a defined shape and size with a rise in Cu2+ doping. The Cu0.12Co0.88Fe2O4 NPs revealed clear grain boundaries with the least agglomeration. The energy band gap declined from 3.98 eV to 3.21 eV with a shift in Cu2+ concentration from 0.4 to 0.12. The electrical studies showed that doping a trace amount of Cu2+ improved the electrical properties of the CFO NPs without producing any structural distortions. The conductivity of the Cu2+-doped CFO NPs increased from 6.66 x 10(-10) to 5.26 x 10(-6) (sic) cm(-1) with a rise in Cu2+ concentration. The improved structural and electrical characteristics of the prepared Cu2+-doped CFO NPs made them a suitable candidate for electrical devices, diodes, and sensor technology applications.Web of Science1510art. no. 350

Enhancement of magnetic and dielectric properties of Ni0.25Cu0.25Zn0.50Fe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles through non-thermal microwave plasma treatment for high-frequency and energy storage applications

Spinel ferrites are widely investigated for their widespread applications in high-frequency and energy storage devices. This work focuses on enhancing the magnetic and dielectric properties of Ni0.25Cu0.25Zn0.50 ferrite series through non-thermal microwave plasma exposure under low-pressure conditions. A series of Ni0.25Cu0.25Zn0.50 ferrites was produced using a facile sol-gel auto-ignition approach. The post-synthesis plasma treatment was given in a low-pressure chamber by sustaining oxygen plasma with a microwave source. The structural formation of control and plasma-modified ferrites was investigated through X-ray diffraction analysis, which confirmed the formation of the fcc cubical structure of all samples. The plasma treatment did not affect crystallize size but significantly altered the surface porosity. The surface porosity increased after plasma treatment and average crystallite size was measured as about similar to 49.13 nm. Morphological studies confirmed changes in surface morphology and reduction in particle size on plasma exposure. The saturation magnetization of plasma-exposed ferrites was roughly 65% higher than the control. The saturation magnetization, remnant magnetization, and coercivity of plasma-exposed ferrites were calculated as 74.46 emu/g, 26.35 emu/g, and 1040 Oe, respectively. Dielectric characteristics revealed a better response of plasma-exposed ferrites to electromagnetic waves than control. These findings suggest that the plasma-exposed ferrites are good candidates for constructing high-frequency devices.Web of Science1519art. no. 689

RDSP : Rapidly deployable wireless ad hoc system for post-disaster management

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